About the Book

Book: Ellie’s Escape

Author: Linda Shenton Matchett

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: March 25, 2022

She’s running for her life. He needs a trophy wife. They didn’t count on falling in love.

Ellie Wagner is fine being a spinster school teacher. Then she witnesses a bank hold up and can identify the bandits. Fellow robbery victim Milly Crenshaw happens to run the Westward Home & Hearts Matrimonial Agency so she arranges for Ellie to head West as a mail-order bride. But her groom only wants a business arrangement. Can she survive a loveless marriage?

Banker Julian Sheffield is more comfortable with numbers than with people, but he’s done well for himself. Then the bank president tells him that in order to advance further he must marry in six weeks’ time. The candid, unsophisticated woman sent by the agency is nothing like he expected, but time is running out. When her past comes calling, does he have what it takes to ensure their future?

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About the Author

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is a former trustee for her local public library. She is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame). Linda has lived in historic places all her life, and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by Sheffield is more comfortable with numbers than with people, but he’s done well for himself. Then the bank president tells him that in order to advance further he must marry in six weeks’ time. The candid, unsophisticated woman sent by the agency is nothing like he expected, but time is running out. When her past comes calling, does he have what it takes to ensure their future?

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About the Author

More from Linda

Dear Reader,

One of my favorite tropes to use in a story is the proverbial “fish out of water,” so when it came time for me to brainstorm the idea for Ellie’s Escape, I made a list of situations that would be uncomfortable for my protagonists (see what we writers do to our poor characters?).

As a result, I sent my female protagonist from the crowded city of Boston, Massachusetts (population 362,000) to the remote reaches of Gunnison, Colorado (population 888) where because of its location in the Rocky Mountains is one of the coldest places in winter in the United States. Compared to Boston’s elevation of 141’, Gunnison’s elevation of over 7,700 feet had to seem dizzying to my poor girl. The research into Gunnison was very fun, and I was able to use my boss as a subject matter expert because he’d lived there for several years before moving to New Hampshire. I gave my painfully shy male protagonist a gregarious mail-order bride that he doesn’t quite know what to do with.

Here are a few fun facts about Gunnison:

The Gunnison River drops an average of forty-three feet per mile through Black Canyon which is SIX times more than the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
Standing at 2,250 feet from river to rim, Black Canyon’s Painted Wall is the tallest cliff in Colorado, and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building.
The town is named for a man who only stayed for three days – explorer John W. Gunnison who was searching for a route for the transcontinental railroad.
A little-known site for gold and silver mining, Gunnison and the surrounding area produced a reported 130,000 ounces of gold.
Gunnison residents isolated themselves during the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918. All highways were barricaded near the county lines, and train conductors warned passengers that if they got off the train in Gunnison, they’d be arrested and quarantined for five days.

Comment and name a fun fact about where you live for your chance to win the grand prize.

Blessings,

Linda Shenton Matchett

MY REVIEW

I enjoy reading mail order bride stories because they are fascinating. It is hard to believe that a woman would travel to places where she knows no one and marry a stranger. During this time period it seemed to be very popular and many women signed up hoping to find the perfect husband.

Ellie is happy with her life being a teacher and what some refer to her as a spinster. It didn’t seem to matter to Ellie much what others thought of her. I liked how she has such a sweet spirit around her. When she witnesses a bank robbery and sees the face of one of them, she quickly leaves town to hide from them. Looks like she is now going to be a mail order bride. Will she find true love?

Julian for some reason reminds me of a stuffy man who demands everything to be in proper order. Working at the bank he has a certain image to maintain. He must find a bride in order to impress the bank president. He is matched up with Ellie and thus our adventure begins.

I adored how the author places these two people together and slowly allow them to get to know each other. Ellie is gifted with children and decides to help with the children at church. It was nice to see Julian stop by and help her out. Julian begins to have this desire to know God more and I loved how Ellie was there to encourage him.

Their friendship with the pastor and his wife are just what this couple need. They share how they met and how God helped them to have a more meaningful and loving marriage. The author uses scriptures to show what God says about marriage and how to have a deeper relationship with Him.

The story does have a little adventure at the end which I wasn’t expecting. It was a great illustration to show how God protects us and to trust Him in all situations. I really enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from this author.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.